


Taxes

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-05
Updated: 2013-11-05
Packaged: 2017-12-31 13:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1032151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Commander Erwin and Petra have a conversation. Set before the battle of Trost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taxes

The day had been quiet. 

No incedent had occured, and the castle the Survey Corps called headquarters reflected the warm autumn sun. It was late afternoon, just as the sun was getting ready to set.

Commander Erwin strode into the main courtyard, going nowhere in particular, his subordinate Petra Ral at his side. 

"Commander," said Petra. "May I speak?"

"Go ahead."

Petra cleared her throat. "Sir, what will we do about those complaints?"

Erwin eyed Petra. "Which complaints?"

"You know..." said Petra. "The ones that say we're wasting taxpayer dollars."

Erwin nodded. "Yes, those ones." He turned to Petra. "What do  _you_ think we should do...?"

Petra shrugged. She glanced at her commander, hoping she could get a solid answer out of him. She knew he was a cryptic man, not only from word of mouth, but through experience of her own. She held back a sigh. She hoped to God he wasn't testing her...

"No answer, huh?" 

Petra shook her head. "No, Sir. I was hoping I could get your position on the matter."

She cleared her throat once more. "Actually, I had asked the same question of both Corporal Levi and Squad Leader Hange earlier, and they said, well..."

"Well, what did they say?"

She lifted her head a little. "Squad Leader Hange said that she didn't care what the taxpayers had to say, so long as they kept funding her research. She was a bit insensitive about it, but...not as bad as Corporal Levi."

The corners of Erwin's lips curled into a faint smile. "What did he have to say?"

"Uh..." Petra stammered.

"It's fine if you use his exact words. I won't be offended."

Petra was still a bit apprehensive, but went ahead with her quote, despite her nerves.

"'Why the hell should we have to listen to those dipshits? It would be better if we could just threaten them into paying. If they don't want to pay for their protection, we should just throw their asses at the next round of titans we see. Then they'd have a taste of real suffering. Don't talk to me about those guys again, okay?'"

Erwin chuckled, muttering, "As I thought."

"He was also gesturing- in great detail, I might add- the complainers getting eaten by titans. He would've made a good showman, if he weren't a soldier..." Petra laughed a little at the recollection. 

The two walked along across the courtyard in silent amusement. Petra looked about them, at the gold-orange leaves on the trees. It was Fall, alright. 

An aide called the Commander aside, leaving Petra alone to marvel at the beauty of the world.

She thought of Levi's gruesome comments, and laughed to herself. Maybe the Survey Corps wasn't as bad as people had made it out to be...


End file.
